PEACELOVEBASKETBALL: Summer Shooting Challenge
It’s almost summer, and no longer basketball season. Or is it?
Kids are playing basketball year round these days, which is both good and bad. Good, because they’re getting more time on the court, but bad because too much time can lead to burnout and injury. I’ve written about this in my blog, Variety is the Spice of Life: Say NO to playing select sports year-round. I believe a player can still improve without playing a million games during the off-season by finding time to simply shoot and work on skills.
When I was a Sophomore in high school I averaged 3 points per game. The next year I was one of the leading scores in the Greater Spokane League. What changed? I worked on my shot. I spent some time playing with a team, but I spent a lot of hours just getting shots up on my own.
Download a free PLB Shooting Challenge Goal Sheet & Shot Chart form for inspiration and watch your shot improve this summer. (Coaches and parents suggest it to your players & kids.)
Dream big! Just grab a basketball, find a hoop and get after it.
Life Inspired Fitness: Do What You Love
I’ve always tried to do the things that I love to stay healthy and happy. Sometimes I put me second to everything and everyone else in my life, and that’s okay for a while, but as my good friend and writer Jenny says, “no one can pour from an empty cup.” So that’s what this blog is about, staying healthy by finding what it is that makes you happy, and doing it.
Other than my time at the computer writing, I am usually on the go. I walk my dog, go up and down stairs in my house all day long, work in the yard, and stay busy managing and fixing real estate properties. But what keeps me fit, is taking the time to do the things I love. I play tennis and run on occasion, but what gets me moving, is knowing that I need to stay in shape to keep playing basketball.
Basketball is dear to my heart. I have always loved to play, not to mention the game literally helped save my life after I was in an accident years ago. When I was 24 years old (more than half my lifetime ago), I lost my fiancé and nearly lost my own life, and basketball gave me a reason to live. Or maybe better said, it gave me a goal to achieve, which when I was in the depth of grief, was one in the same.
With a shattered right arm (my shooting arm) and a broken right femur, as well as other injuries, my return to basketball seamed unlikely to most, but I set a goal to play again. While going through rehabilitation to get my body strong, the focus and exercise helped me work through my grief as […]
PEACELOVEBASKETBALL & PEN TO PAPER: Writing Wisdom
When I was coaching I gave journals to all of my players and to the kids who came to our summer camps. I found that writing was a good way for them to set personal goals, learn about team concepts and discover things about themselves and each other.
Some players cherished their journals and even brought them home and used them on their own throughout the season. Others simply left them in their lockers for the times when we had organized writing exercises and goal settings. But I loved that every time we wrote in the journals, noses went straight to the page and pens where scratching away. The girls had things to say, thoughts to be written. I believe that all the players and campers benefitted from the experience in one way or another as it gave them the opportunity to delve into their thoughts on the importance of teamwork, attitude and work ethic, and also gave them a space for personal introspection and self-evaluation.
For the high school teams, I had the players write down basketball goals as well as some life goals, and then I tried to give a variety of thought provoking writing prompts. I used questions like: What does team mean to you? Give three things that you can do to help our team be successful this year. Name three goals you have for this season. What steps will you take to achieve these goals? What are three goals (non-basketball related) that you would like to accomplish this year in school? What would you like to be doing in five years? There are so many options to get your team thinking.
Journaling for campers (4th– 8thgraders) was similar, I just added questions that were a little easier to answer and to discuss if the girls wanted to. I […]
PEN TO PAPER: Working Inspiration
Are you looking for something to write about? Try writing a list poem of the jobs you’ve had over your lifetime and see what happens.
In a recent conversation with a friend, I explained how I bought one house in a short sale and then used a 1031 Exchange to find a house in a better neighborhood. Over the evening my past as a forklift driver and a Licensed Massage Therapist came up. She knew me as a fashion model. She laughed, “I’d like to see a list of all the jobs you’ve had.”
My Jobs
Deli Worker
Forklift Driver
Retail Sales Person
Pizza Delivery Person
Waitress
Fashion Model
Basketball Coach
Apartment Manager
Licensed Massage Therapist
School Volunteer
PeaceLoveBasketball Design/Owner
Writer/Author
Public Speaker
Real Estate Investor/ Rental manager
Mom
A poem? Well, not really, but a dredger of stories for sure. Just writing the list brought back all kinds of memories, and all sorts of possibilities. Give it a try!
WRITING PROMPT 1: Write a list of all the jobs you’ve had in your lifetime.
WRITING PROMPT 2: Pick one (or two) of them and keep on writing.
Meet Sonya
Meet Sonya
Sonya Elliott’s memoir, Back on the Court: A Young Woman’s Triumphant Return to Life, Love & Basketball, is her story of finding hope in the wake of tragedy after she and her fiancé were hit by a train. She blogs about writing, basketball, and life and is currently working on a Young Adult Novel and a Non-Fiction Coaching book. Stories of her career as a fashion model are woven through her memoir, as both the Soloflex and Easy Spirit Shoes commercials were filmed during that time period, and this unique and intriguing business continues to be a part of her life.
Sonya played basketball at Eastern Washington University and was a starter for the Big Sky Champion team that went to the 1987 NCAA tournament. She coached for almost 25 years and was voted Seattle Times Coach of the Year, Seattle Officials Women’s Basketball Association Coach of the Year, and twice voted Metro League Coach of the Year. She loves the game of basketball and is thankful, not only for her husband and kids but for her ability to continue to get back on the court.
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PEN TO PAPER: Missing You
With Covid-19, many of us can’t be with the people we love. And if we do get to see them, we need to be careful. My daughter is safe in Taiwan, but she is far away. And I’ve only seen my parent’s twice in the last eight months, at a distance. Today’s wiritng prompt is for those who we miss. It can be kept to yourself, or better yet, mail it.
WRITING PROMPT: Write a letter to someone you miss right now.
PEN TO PAPER: Picture Perfect
There’s nothing like using a photo for a writing prompt…
WRITING PROMPT: Take a look at this picture, set your timer and write…
LIFE INSPIRED FITNESS: Destination Inspiration
Often, simply having a destination in mind where you’d like to go, is all you need to get your body moving. Sometimes it’s a thundering waterfall or a stunning view from a mountaintop at the end of a hike, or a secluded beach at the midpoint of a bike ride. But an inspiring destination can also be as simple as your local coffee shop, where the thought of a warm cup of coffee, helps you get a mile or two in as you walk, or ride your bike, to start the day. Maybe it’s the pull of a neighborhood viewpoint where you like to walk your dog. Maybe it’s the local farmer’s market, a friendly gift shop or maybe it’s your local ballot box (a little reminder to VOTE).
Whatever the case, try using destinations for inspiration. This can help on a daily bases as well as throughout the year to […]
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